Reinventing Scrapbooking with Scrapnote for iPad

When trying out Scrapnote a couple of weeks ago, I mainly did it to give scrapbooking a try. I wasn’t looking at the app as anything outside of that at first, however, as I dug a bit more into the app, I found Scrapnote really reinventing what scrapbooking meant to the modern individual. Let’s check out how it works and how it reinvents itself.

A Brief Overview

Scrapnote allows you to share the things that you find online or multimedia that you just want to keep in one place. When you launch, you have a similar presentation we are used to from other notebook applications. Each notebook is presented on the home page, allowing you to select which one you want to edit. Click the “+” to create a new notebook. With the ability to also handwrite in each notebook, your scrapbooks look even more realistic.

Clipping Made Easy

The main feature that makes Scrapnote a hit is clipping. Clipping is when you grab information, text, or multimedia from somewhere to add to your Scrapnote. On Scrapnote, you have six main ways for clipping something. Through applications, you can clip things from Evernote (notes), YouTube (videos), and from the iWork suite (documents and power points). Elsewhere, you can clip websites from Safari, photos from your device, and just about any text you have copied. As you may know, unlike with Mac, it isn’t possible to have Safari add-ons for iOS Safari. No worries, Scrapnote has an in-app Safari browser, making it easier than ever to add to your scrapbook.

Making it Look The Part

If it doesn’t look like a scrapbook, then how is Scrapbook any different than say, Pages or Keynote that I already have on my iPad? That’s the thing, Scrapnote has various features that make your Scrapnotes look even more like scrapbooks. When you click the pen, the first option on the right hand side, you have the ability to add hand drawn notes and pictures. This is perfect for if you are looking to make more visual scrapbooks.

Of course, unlike your traditional scrapbooks, if you draw something incorrectly, you can just as easily go back and redraw without damaging or having to redraw other aspects of your scrapbook. If your handwriting isn’t up to par, Scrapnote allows you to also add text notes with tape, arrow, and paper templates. This gives the affect that you are taping or sticky note to your scrapbook.

Pros and Cons

Some things I loved about Scrapnote was the full range of customization available. You are given a truly blank slate, making it easier than ever to grow inspiration for make your scrapbook truly work for you. If you want to keep it a traditional photo scrapbook, you can easily do so by making use of the Camera Roll feature, allowing for pasting photos already on board your device.

If you want to modernize it, you can make use of the Safari, Evernote, or even YouTube feature to add your Evernote notes and multimedia for more visually appealing notes. When on the subject of integration, I really enjoy how well integrated Scrapnote actually is.

Want to add something from Evernote? No need to leave the app, it’s already in Scrapnote. The feature that truly caught me by surprise was the in-app Safari clipping capabilities. Some cons I had with Scrapnote, however, was the lack of sharing features. This isn’t an app for showing off, it was certainly something for personal note organization.

Having some sort of printing or sharing feature for the future would be greatly appreciated.

Scrapnote, developed by Groosoft, is available on the App Store for $2.99. Scrapnote is usable on all iPad 2 or newer devices.